Ramatuelle concierge.

Pampelonne, where the beach clubs are

Pampelonne beach runs six kilometres on the east side of the peninsula, from Capon-Pinet in the north to Bonne Terrasse in the south. Across those six kilometres sit all the beach clubs visitors identify as 'Saint-Tropez': Club 55 (since 1955, at the heart of Boulevard Patch), Loulou Ramatuelle, Bagatelle Beach, Nikki Beach, Verde Beach, Casa Amor, Shellona, La Réserve à la Plage (the beach annex of Hôtel La Réserve Ramatuelle), Kinugawa for Japanese on the sand.

Administratively Pampelonne is Ramatuelle, not Saint-Tropez. The beach starts six kilometres south of Saint-Tropez village, and the road between them — the D93 — is the backdrop to most August timing problems. The postcode is 83350; it's the detail that surprises visitors.

Access runs through the four parallel chemins that drop from Boulevard Patch: Tahiti, Patch, l'Épi, Bonne Terrasse. Each beach club has its chemin. We plan around that.

The village of Ramatuelle

The village of Ramatuelle itself is something else entirely. Set on the hill at three hundred and forty metres, it's a circular medieval village whose streets form a spiral. The main square is l'Ormeau, named for the elm tree planted in 1598.

The village is ten kilometres from Pampelonne beach by road — fifteen minutes off-peak, thirty to forty-five minutes in August. For lunch on Pampelonne followed by dinner up at the village, you plan the car. Les Moulins de Ramatuelle, just outside the village, is the refined Provençal option when Kinugawa is full down at the beach.

The village market runs Thursday and Sunday mornings on the place de l'Ormeau, until 1pm. Côtes de Provence vineyards cover the hinterland — Domaine de la Rouillère, Château Minuty, Domaines Ott — each opens by appointment. A half-day tasting trip from Pampelonne is entirely playable.

Lead times on the beach

For the major beach clubs in peak August, real lead times: ten or more at Club 55, Loulou, Bagatelle, Nikki Beach, La Réserve à la Plage need four to six weeks before the date. For 'front row, central section' requests at ten pax at Club 55, more like six weeks.

Four to six pax: two to three weeks works in most cases, across all the beach clubs. Two on a weekday: a morning-of phone call is sometimes playable, never guaranteed.

Lunch books more easily than dinner on the beach. Friday, Saturday, Sunday in August are nearly impossible without lead time. Bastille Day (14 July) and 15 August book in June.

Getting to Pampelonne

From Saint-Tropez Vieux Port, Pampelonne is six to eight kilometres depending on the beach club. In peak August that's thirty to forty-five minutes by car on the D93. Off-season, twenty minutes.

Arriving by yacht, you anchor on each beach club's private buoy — Club 55, Loulou, Bagatelle and Nikki Beach each have one, marked. The yacht's tender shuttles in. It's the fastest option in August.

By helicopter from Nice, landing at La Mole (LFTZ), the neighbouring commune of Grimaud, twenty-five minutes by car onward to Pampelonne. Book forty-eight hours ahead, weather permitting.

Pampelonne parking is regulated: each beach club has its own, accessible to clients with a confirmed booking. Without the booking, you circle the four chemins.

What we do in Ramatuelle

For the beach clubs: we make the call, by phone, in French, mornings between 9am and 11am. We ask for the section, the placement, mention of children, special occasion, cake timing, dietary detail. All in writing, before the family arrives.

For the village and the vineyards: we coordinate tasting appointments, transport to Les Moulins, apéritif at l'Ormeau. For villas rented in the Ramatuelle hills, we handle arrival, keys, linen, the welcome basket.

Reservation refused by a house, zero fee. We propose another the same day.

Postcode and commune

Ramatuelle's postcode is 83350. The mairie is on the place de l'Ormeau, at the heart of the village. The commune holds about 2,200 year-round residents and covers the six kilometres of Pampelonne plus the village and the inland hills.

The sous-préfecture is in Draguignan; formalities go through there. The Festival de Ramatuelle (classical and jazz) runs through July and August at the village's open-air theatre; tickets for popular evenings book in June.

What we don't do

We don't 'unlock a Club 55' the week of arrival if it's full — we make the call, and if the house says no, we say no. We don't pretend to have locked a table that isn't locked. We don't take a markup on your beach bill. We don't push toward the house paying us the most — nobody pays us.